During an instant messaging conversation, an audible alert may be played upon the receipt of an instant message, the sending of an instant message, or upon the occurrence of other events such as a designated user (“buddy”) logging on or logging off of the instant messaging network. The audible alerts received during an instant messaging session to indicate the existence of different events may be customized and distinguished from each other. For instance, the sound played with respect to a user logging in may differ from the sound played with respect to the same user logging out.